District 9

District 9 (2009)
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Cast: Sharlto Copley, Marian Hooman, Jason Cope, William Allen Young

Summing-Up, Up Front:
District 9 is also a wonderfully original Sci-Fi movie that takes some big chances with an unconventional approach as they place a metaphorical wrapper around the movie that gives it a little more weight than just another alien encounter story.

Alien encounter movies usually break down into two categories:
1 - They come down and try to kill or enslave everyone
2 - They are friendly, but misunderstood and we try to kill or enslave them

District 9 takes a decidedly different path. It is a film that places the aliens among as refugees and we are forced to face what it means to be one of "the others" through the eyes of the protagonist. There's a deep poignancy in this approach that is very affecting.

The film starts after the aliens have been among us for twenty years. Unlike most movies where the aliens arrive in New York, Washington D.C., London or some other high profile place. These aliens have arrived in Johannesburg, South Africa. And also unlike most alien encounter movies, these aliens aren't invaders or even planned visitors. These aliens have just drifted into Earth's atmosphere with their ship coming to rest above the city.

When the humans finally muster up the courage to investigate the ship, they discover malnourished and sickly aliens. These are not either the fearsome creatures ready to devour humans, nor are they the erudite overlord types. These scared, nearly desperate souls are on the verge of dying and their ship isn't the intimidating craft that the humans initially perceived, but is more of a space faring life raft.

After twenty years with us, the aliens are quarantined into a lowly and squalid refugee camp outside of the city and are treated as a nuisance more than anything. Anyway to exploit their advanced technology has already been completed, but the humans have a hit a wall because any weaponry they could exploit has failed because the weapons can only be used by the aliens and none of the alien refugees really know much or even care too much for these items.

The aliens also have strange proclivities including borderline lust for cat food which, of course, gets exploited by human gangs that have infiltrated the aliens refugee camp. This unsanctioned human/alien contact is prohibited, but there is not much enforcement.

The film kicks into full gear right at the beginning as the humans are getting ready to evict the aliens from their pathetic slum to even worse conditions (not that the aliens know of this future). A fumbling, low-level functionary (Copley) is charged with this effort and while in the process of informing the aliens of their impending displacement, discovers a cannister containing a mysterious liquid. While fumbling with it, he gets a face full of the liquid and starts a startling transformation that will lead to a dramatic confrontation between the humans and their alien guests.

The films initially employees a documentary approach that is very effective and almost makes these aliens seem real. Of course, the alien special effects work flawlessly with this approach. As the film progresses, it drifts in and out of this documentary style into a traditional narrative and while this may seem jarring, it does work.

It is not entirely clear that the filmmakers intended to create a metaphorical commentary on the treatment of refugees, but the film certainly works that way. And this is not a pretty picture of how refugees are relegated to sub-standard existences along with depicting the victimization of these desperate creatures. While the film moves along in fits and starts, this disorienting style creates a sense of chaos and uncertainty which certainly must be akin to the life a refugee.

The choice of going with no named stars serves the documentary approach quite well. And this doesn't mean that any of the acting is sub-par. Copley provides a wonderful performance as we get to see an average (or, even, below average) Joe have his world turned upside down. During the chaos of his transformation, we get to see not only a physical transfiguration, but also an emotional transformation as he finds himself more aligned with the aliens than he could ever suspect.

Just as a warning, this film is graphic in several places, so it shouldn't be viewed like the cute-cuddly E.T. genre. District 9 is a unique entry in the alien encounter genre and one that has some real poignancy along with some fantastic action. For those looking for action, there's plenty of it on the surface level, but for those wanting more substance, there's definitely several layers in this film for those that want to look deeper.